30,000 reserve troops as well as armored vehicles and tanks. overnight the fighting did not let up. explosions rocking gaza city as israeli planes pounded hamas targets and meanwhile, hamas vowing retaliation for the death of its military chief two days ago, they continue to escalate missile attacks deeper into the state of israel. yesterday israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu warned that the operation could significantly widen. >> no government would tolerate a situation where nearly a fifth of its people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire. and israel will not tolerate this situation. i hope that hamas and the other terror organizations in gaza got the message. if not, israel is prepared to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people. >> and today egypt's prime minister arrived in gaza in a show of support for hamas. nbc's martin fletcher has been

following the latest and he joins us live from tel aviv. martin. >> reporter: good morning, brian. well, did hamas get the message that the israeli prime minister was talking about? apparently not. they fired rockets towards tel aviv always mentioned. a game changer for israel if those rockets had actually landed and done damage in tel aviv. they didn't. two landed short and exploded harmlessly in feels and one landed harmlessly in the sea but more important for the symbolism than the effect. israel's main goal apart from eliminating the militant islamic leadership of hamas has been to destroy their rocket capability aiming most of rare raids, more than 450 in the last couple of days, at destroying the long-range rocket capability of hamas so the fact that they were able to launch three rockets which failed just short of tel aviv. well, that says something that israel needs to as netanyahu said expand its operations if it

wants to destroy that capability. so ground war is the option. but the sirens in tel aviv were frightening. of course, not the same as actual rockets landing as they did yesterday where three israeli citizens were killed but today there was a temporary cease-fire as the egyptian prime minister has been visiting gas have on the message on a visit of support and at the same time presumably trying to talk hamas into a cease-fire with israel. there's just been an announcement that the tunisian foreign minister will go to gaza tomorrow and a possibility that the turkish prime minister will be going there too, all the same reason to talk hamas and israel down from this high tree they both reached and try to avoid a ground invasion by israel into gaza. >> yeah, martin, i want to ask you about egypt. you know, the prime minister in gaza, how much pressure ises united states putting a lot of pressure on egypt to be a peace broker here? >> reporter: presumably a lot.

there have been conversations between washington and cairo and, of course, jerusalem, too. a lot of pressure is coming from america but at the same time, america has said to israel before this all started, almost gave them the green light really saying america agreed that israel needs to do what it needs to do to defend itself so that was giving israel the permission to respond to what after all was a hundred palestinian rockets fired into israel in five days before israel retaliated. >> all right. nbc's martin fletcher. we appreciate the report and obviously stay safe for us over there. also this morning, general petraeus, retired david petraeus red heading to capitol hill where he'll testify. he is expected to focus on the time line of exactly when the agency knew the attack on the american consulate was an act of terrorism and not a protest gone wrong as first suggested. in a close session yesterday members of the house and senate intelligence committee saw for the first time surveillance

video and drone recordings of the attack as it unfolded. public hearing on benghazi apparently are in the works general petraeus still dealing with the controversy on a separate front, his admitted extramarital affair. the former top spy being investigated by the agency that he once directed which, of course, is the cia. officials say the investigation by the cia inspector general surrounds whether petraeus used agency resources to advance his relationship with paula broadwell. speaking out about the scandal for the first time yesterday, attorney general eric holder defended the justice department's decision not to inform the president or members of congress sooner. >> we follow the facts. we do not share outside the justice department, outside the fbi the facts of ongoing investigations. we made the determination as we were going through the matter that there was not a threat to

national security. had we made the determination that a threat to national security existed, we would, of course, have made that known to the president and also to the appropriate members on the hill. >> now, with a pair of four-star generals being investigated, defense secretary leon panetta ordering a review of all military ethical standards, meanwhile, the fbi agent who helped trigger the initial investigation explaining that shirtless photo he sent jill kelley, one of the women at the center of the story. frederick humphries telling "the seattle times" he sent the photo to dozens adding it was meant to be a joke and not sexual at all. he could have kept his shirt on. in the image he's posing with target dummies. it reads which one is fred? i think he's the guy in the middle. now, ten days removed from the presidential election, a growing number of leading republicans are trying to distance themselves from mitt romney's recent comments where he claimed

president obama won the white house by offering gifts or government services to minorities and young voters. louisiana governor bobby jindal took his criticism of romney a step further saying the gop needs to appeal to more than 53% of the electorate which is obviously a clear jab at romney's 47% reference during the campaign. >> this is completely unhelpful h is not where the republican party needs to g we want -- if you want voters to like you, the first thing you have to do is like them first and it is certainly not helpful to tell voters you think their votes were bought. that's not a way to show them you like them. people on food stamps don't want to be there and are there because they can't get better paying jobs. our responsibility to have do things to have them have a better life. >> marco rubio of florida offering his own carefully

worded reaction to romney telling politico, quote, i don't want to rebut him point by point. i would just say to you, i don't believe that we have millions and millions of people in this country that don't want to work, end quote and former mississippi governor haley barber suggesting the republican party as a whole needs to do some soul searching. >> we've got to give our political organizational activity, you know, a very serious proctology exam. we need to look everywhere is the point. >> he was trying to decide whether to go forward with the analogy and he did. for now mitt romney isn't pointing to any major missteps of his own insisting his team ran a superb campaign. meanwhile, as new york recovers from hurricane sandy, president obama vows to revisit the worst hit areas until the damage is fully repaired.

in his first trip to the state since the storm, the president took a helicopter tour of the devastation including the rockaways and breezy point which you might recall roughly 100 homes were burned in a massive fire and landed in staten island and the president met with storm victims, many of whom are still without power. >> i promise to everybody that i was speaking on behalf of the country when i said we are going to be here until the rebuilding is complete. and i meant it. i'm very proud of you, new york. you guys are tough. you bounce back. just as america always bounces back, the same is going to be true this time out. >> president obama signed his housing secretary sean donovan to be the point person for federal assistance in the area. some business news and go down to the gulf. british oil company bp paying out $4.5 billion in connection with the 2010 oil rig explosion that killed 11 people and

triggered a massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico. the company also pleading guilty to 14 criminal charges and two employees actually face charges of involuntary manslaughter. the company admits to violating environmental laws and providing false and misleading information about how quickly the oil was flowing. while it's the biggest criminal fine ever against a single company, just for perspective here, folks, it's almost a billion dollars less than what the company made in just the third quarter of this year. it's just a quarter of the year. before we go to break a quick reminder, shoot me an e-mail, waytooearly@msnbc.com or @bshactman. we'll read the best responses later in the show. coming up next, the undefeated new york knicks, that's right, undefeated. sounds a bit strange but it's not a mistake. they took on the spurs. highlights next in sports and

jon stewart takes on the romney gift remarks showing off fake swag for voting obama. that and a check on weather when "way too early" comes back. >> it's a mandate for freedom, for dignity, for quality, for hope for entering the 21st century with technology and science. so you say men are superior drivers?

yeah. then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...safe driving bonus check? every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. ok. [ voice of dennis ] silence. are you in good hands? [ female announcer ] he could be the one. soulmate. husband. loving father to your children. but first you've got to get him to say, "hello." new crest 3d white arctic fresh toothpaste. use it with these 3d white products, and whiten your teeth in just 2 days. what will a 3d white smile do for you? new crest 3d white toothpaste. life opens up when you do. this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

5:43 a.m. on the eastern coast of the united states from the top of the rock, it is a friday, folks. a little extra sugar in your coffee. today is going to be just fine. a check on the weather with bill karins. haven't seen you in a while. >> doing great. this is more fun than your normal gig. >> i had to take a little starch

out of my collar. >> that's the country club up there. >> now, now, they're watching. my bosses are watching. >> it's nice. i have been in the cafeteria. country club. >> good food. >> across the nation another quiet morning out there. temperatures are in the 30s and the 40s. it's really going to be a really tranquil period for any travel or anything. this is mother nature making up for what happened in the last two weeks. notice across the map, nothing much in any troublesome weather. the west coast is the only spot that's going to be less than ideal. probably the next three, four, maybe even five days in a row. anywhere in the east you're pretty much going to be dry. only showers, very light even around the chesapeake southern portions of delaware and maryland and that's about it. we're going to see a nice dry day today. temperatures just like yesterday and it's kind of funny. stare at the map. a hard time realizing it's changing. here's your weekend forecast. almost every single location remains exactly the same day after day. even as we go through saturday and into sunday, many areas will

stay up in the 50s and 60s. i don't think too much wet weather will rain out your plans. we're good heading into the holiday week. let's fast forward and go all the way now into wednesday of next week. consider the busiest travel day of the season. a lot heading to relatives' houses. only spot i expect travel trouble with rain, no real snow problems out there and as we head into thanksgiving day itself, we're looking really nice. just the northwest is the only issues out there. so, brian, as far as the weather world goes, this is about as quiet and as much of a break that we'll get. >> so we'll take a bit of stability. sports now. dolphins taking on the bills last night up in buffalo. less than two minutes into the game, the dolphins punting to mckelvin. you love punt returns. you know it's going to happen. weeds through a couple of guys and off to the races.

79 yards all the way to the end zone for mckelvin gives the bills an early 7-0 lead. bills up by five with two minutes left. ryan tan hill trying to get his fie team down the field. bills won. i know, unbelievable. they didn't score an offensive touchdown and still win 19-14 over the dolphins, both 4-6. i am sure you did not stay up for that one. the nba, the undefeated knicks, six shooters in "the daily news." that's solid. kind of weak, spurfect. they beat the spurs. i think "the post" can do a lot better. fourth quarter against the spurs, two best records in the league, down 12, the knicks make a move, smith draining the three and knicks take a two-point lead. less than a minute left, raymond felton doesn't get it done but tyson chandler does for the put-back dunk and flex.

6-0 for just the second time in franchise history, the last time they did this, '93/'94, by the way, that was the last time they made it to the nba finals which you remember against the rockets. double box with o.j. who could forget that? the knicks not the only team to watch. brooklyn taking on the celtics. check out the ball skills of williams, getting to follow. finished with 24 points and 8 assists. nets beat the celtics, 102-97 and improve to 5-2. want to go to baseball now where cabrera beating mike trout for the mvp award. not nearly as close as a lot expected. cabrera, the first triple crown winner in 45 years. can't wait to talk to barnacle about it. yastrzemski the last. this decision not going to sit well with the moneyball crowd. while cabrera had the advantage like batting average, rbis, home

runs, trout had the edge in wins above replacement if you never heard of it, war, a metric that measures his contribution to his team's actually one-loss record. trout, 10.7 wins over replacement to cabrera's 6.9 but triple crown. finished first. i don't have much argument with it. now, in the national league, the mvp went to buster posey of the giants. first national league catcher since johnny bench in 1972 to win the award. don't forget a year ago he broke his leg and blew out his knee. incredible comeback. at the top of the hour on "morning joe" renewed conflict along israel's borders that threatens to embroil the entire region posing a new test for ee jupt's young government. the implications with the president of the council on foreign relations, richard haass and when we come back here we'll huddle around the water cooler. looking forward to it. stephen colbert diagramming the petraeus scandal with a little help from his favorite daytime soap operas.

that clip when "way too early" comes back. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. at legalzoom, we've created a better place to handle your legal needs. maybe you have questions about incorporating a business you'd like to start. or questions about protecting your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like to find the right attorney to help guide you along, answer any questions and offer advice. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable legal protection. in most states, a legal plan attorney is available with

every personalized document to answer any questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected.

at the top of the show we updated you on the developing situation in the middle east where escalating aggression in gaza has egypt caught in the middle. egypt condemned the air strikes

yesterday but "the washington post" reports severing diplomatic ties with israel would threaten egypt's economic aid from all across the world. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends that egypt receives $2 billion in annual aid from the united states and is also seeking a $4.8 billion loan from the international monetary fund. we need to take a little break from the heavy stuff here. water cooler time. watching vice president joe biden show off his comedic timing, at least the intentional kind appearing in a cameo on "parks and recreation" here on nbc. the show's main character leslie plays by amy poehler gets a surprise engagement gift, the opportunity to meet her number one crush. >> how did you do this? >> called in a few favors. >> excuse me here. >> a few hundred favors, mr. vice president. ben wyatt from congressman murray's office. >> dave told me you would be coming by.

welcome. >> you're -- my name just came out of your mouth. >> well, yeah, it did. >> well, this isn't happening. this isn't real. >> no, it's happening. and i'm delighted to have you here. on behalf of the president and myself -- >> oh, mr. vice president, i am deeply flattered but there's no way i could take over madam secretary's position. >> i'm confident you could do that job or any other. >> okay, i will. >> the reason you're here is i'm told you've done such a great job in the town of indiana and i want to say congratulations for your public service. >> i just want to say thank. >> you're very welcome. >> you're very welcome. >> you're very handsome. >> you're nuts. >> thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> we'll see you tomorrow. >> well, you will? >> thank you, mr. vice president. >> you're welcome. >> he did a good job there. that was good stuff.

during our conference call this week, mitt romney told donors president obama won the election by offering certain gifts to voters. well, on "the daily show" jon stewart takes a look inside his goody bag. >> the president's campaign did was focused on certain members of his base coalition, give them extraordinary financial gifts from the government and then work very aggressively to turn them out to vote. [ laughter ] >> how on earth did mitt romney find out about the extraordinary bag of gifts? that we got. [ cheers and applause ] something for everybody in this. oh, what did obama give us? oh, bag of wheat. that was nice. oh, food stamp cozy. contraception variety pack.

that was thoughtful. pinata filled with green cards. >> oh, man, it's good to see that stuff for the first time and with the different characters involved in general petraeus' scandal, you may have a little trouble keeping track of all the names. well, last night stephen colbert finds an easy solution. his advice imagine it's a soap opera called general's hospital and had a special guest to top by to help stephen with the plot line. >> oh, this is far from over, stephen. [ cheers and applause ] >> susan lucci! >> oh, yes. and there's more. general petraeus has developed amnesia and --s if [ laughter ] >> -- can't remember that he's pregnant. by his own evil twin who's in a

coma and is my lover. [ cheers and applause ] >> that doesn't make any sense. >> how dare you! >> how did you do that from over there? >> don't you remember? i was in a boating accident and now i have telekinesis, just like general petraeus. >> i don't think i could ever do that show. just too many camera turns. i would just screw that up. still ahead on "way too early," why are you awake? "morning joe" just moments away. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again.

time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. buy now. save later.

flavor boost, meet beef. it's swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth to add delicious flavor to your skillet dish in just one stir. mmm! [ female announcer ] cook, meet compliments. get recipes at flavorboost.com. at the top of the show as always we asked why are awe